| 1.1 - General Information | | | | gallon long would be better choice. |
| Leopard Geckos are nocturnal, ground-dwelling | | | | 3.1 - Feeding |
| reptiles that were originally found in the deserts of | | | | When it comes to feeding, babies/juvies eat more |
| Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and Iran (although they | | | | often than adults because it is important for them to |
| live in the desert, their natural substrate is not sand, | | | | grow a big healthy tail. A good rule of thumb to go |
| as I will discuss later under substrate). The scientific | | | | by is once a day for any gecko 1 1/2 years and |
| name is Eublepharis macularius (which means "true" | | | | every other day for older geckos. You should let |
| "eyelid" "spot"). They are one of the few geckos | | | | your gecko eat as much as he or she can in 15 |
| that actually have eyelids, and they naturally have | | | | minutes. They have good judgment and will not eat |
| spots. There are many different morphs of Leopard | | | | more than they can. When they are younger, they |
| Geckos that I will go into in more detail later. Many | | | | may eat too much and regurgitate the food. This is |
| people now breed Leopard Geckos, and you can | | | | just a learning process and doesn't hurt your baby, it |
| purchase them at a local pet store (or through | | | | should teach them not to eat that much. When your |
| breeders). They may live up to 20 years if properly | | | | gecko grows older you should keep feeding it as |
| cared for, and reach an average size of 8-10 inches | | | | much as he/she can eat in 15 minutes, but only feed |
| when they reach adulthood (approximately 1-2 years | | | | it every other day. A good rule of thumb to use is |
| into the gecko's life). | | | | don't feed anything longer than the width between |
| 2.1 - Housing | | | | your geckos eyes (or 3/4 of their head). This will |
| First things first, you should never house multiple male | | | | keep your gecko from swallowing something too big |
| Leopard Geckos together. They are territorial and | | | | and choking, although they usually regurgitate. To |
| may fight each other. You shouldn't house a female | | | | learn more about what to feed your geckos, |
| and a male together either, unless you want babies. | | | | continue reading through the next couple of sections. |
| However, you can house multiple females together, | | | | 4.1 - Health |
| but you must watch them carefully because there | | | | Health is an important part of your gecko's life, of |
| can be situations where one may be a leader. Some | | | | course. Some positive signs of a healthy gecko are: |
| signs of "bullying" would be marks on one of the | | | | - Feeding well. |
| geckos, one getting more food than the other, or | | | | - Growing (if a baby). |
| one of the geckos getting a good bit larger than the | | | | - Is active at night. |
| other. | | | | - Has a fat tail (it is ok if younger geckos don't have |
| Next question one might have is, "How big should my | | | | fat tails, as they are still growing). |
| tank be?" Well this depends on how many geckos | | | | - And is acting normal. |
| you plan to house in the tank. A 10 gallon tank would | | | | You should always check for signs of unhealthiness. |
| be on the small side for one gecko, but it works. My | | | | Also, if you get a new gecko (or geckos) and you |
| opinion is that a 20 gallon tank works best for 2, | | | | are planning to house them with another gecko that |
| maybe 3 geckos, and a 30 gallon tank can fit up to 4 | | | | you already had or you just bought, you should |
| or 5 (this area is debated, so the less geckos, the | | | | "quarantine the new gecko(s). This is a process |
| safer). I do not suggest you ever house more than 5 | | | | where you take the new gecko and put him in a |
| geckos in one tank. Another thing to consider when | | | | tank by himself for about 3 months. If you don't do |
| purchasing a tank is that Leopard Geckos don't climb | | | | this, and your gecko came with a disease, the |
| as much as other geckos, so it is better to buy a | | | | disease would spread to the other gecko and both |
| tank with more surface area. For example: A 20 | | | | of them would have died. After the 3 months you |
| gallon tank (24" x 12" x 16") meaning 24" by 12" | | | | can safely house that gecko with another one. This is |
| surface area, compared to a 20 gallon long (30" x 12" | | | | just a safe way to determine if a Leopard Gecko is |
| x 12") which has 30" by 12" surface area. You could | | | | "disease-free". |
| get those two tanks for the same price, but the 20 | | | | |